Random thoughts on Supernatural 11×20 “Don’t Call Me Shurley” in no particular order, except for the fact that the most important bit is last.
Re: Is Chuck God’s meatsuit? I initially thought that the lines could be read either way, but on rewatch Metatron DOES say “masquerading in that meatsuit”, which is a pretty good case for “Chuck (pre-existing human) as vessel”. As I told Jules I still think it’s weird that God needs an Uber, but I guess he’s really method. Certainly feeds other questions like:
– how did that conversation go down? (I’m calling the fic “Are You There, Chuck? It’s Me, God”)
– did Chuck get a one-way to Heaven, or is it a rideshare? I guess chilling with God is probably as good as it gets…?
– it seems like a human couldn’t contain God if most can’t contain archangels, but this also feeds into the question of why Lucifer is happy as a hermit crab in Cas. Maybe God rebuilding stuff on a molecular level makes it “better, faster, stronger” as the song goes; this might work for God as well. It’s not Jimmy but a rebuilt vessel for Cas in Jimmy’s image, so what God has is less a meatsuit and more a Chuck-a-like. OR, God simply isn’t bound by the same rules as his creations, which is equally defensible (especially since those rules were in service of his story arcs).
– not a question, but apparently Chuck’s persona – whether God’s faking or it’s, uh, “character bleed” was good for God.
Re: where was the Samulet: honestly, I don’t really care. Hahah. Sam can’t have had it in his pocket all this time; he gets thrown around the room way too much for that to work out. Admittedly, he didn’t seem that surprised it was in his pocket, but I mean, it was a surprising kinda day. The joke is the not knowing, so I’m okay to leave it be. 😉 Have fun with theories, I just don’t think it’s significant.
Why the eff doesn’t this show get Emmy nominations: I could write a whole lot about this, but I think everyone saw how much the build up of skill in every area of the show combined with a fantastic script in the hands of a stellar guest cast worked out. But I hope everyone appreciates what kind of acting caliber it takes to walk on to a show after years and be like “what’s up, I’m the same character but btw I’m God”. And this is no patch on the kind of writing and directing talent it takes, as well, to make an episode which was largely just a conversation between 2 men in a static set intensely charged. And you’re talking about really complicated emotional journeys there, too. It’d be hard enough if it was black box theater, but to do it for TV with more than one take, and at least partially out of order? Both Rob and Curtis made me very emotional both times, and they didn’t even touch the dog. Damn, guys. With as many syllables as possible. daaaaaaaayuuummmmm. (I didn’t really give credit to the dog. The dog was good, too.)
Re if there’s a favorites competition: Castiel is winning over Lucifer. He’s certainly done him a lot more favors. Lucifer didn’t get ANY second chances. (…yet?)
Re: end of the season: I actually try to be really careful about specific predictions. I have some, but I work really hard not to get obsessed with what I’d do and not let the show do what IT is doing. I’ve messed this up in the past with SPN and it wasn’t fair to the show or myself. That said…
If any show in history was to kill off God, it’d be Supernatural. I think it will, and I think the reasoning leads to my most important analysis of this episode…
– God’s not just hiding because he’s given up on his creation. He’s scared. He’s in a safe house. And he refers to “worlds”, and calls the destruction on TV “reruns”. This isn’t the first sandcastle Amara’s knocked down. With the help of the archangels (Metatron mentions Lucifer first, but also uses the plural), God “barely” locks Amara away. Several archangels are now either dead or out of commission. This is not going to be an easy fight.
– So he’s sitting there writing his autobiography, and the one creation he chooses to be at his side is his scribe. His editor. The same person he called on before he left previously. “Who lives, who dies, who tells your story?”
– God’s song choice. “One of these days / won’t be long / you’ll call my name / and I’ll be gone”. God thinks he’s going to die, or at least he will be gone in a true sense. Finally. Maybe because Amara is his opposite – his mirror – the only way light can drive out darkness is if they’re both destroyed. She definitely is aiming to kill him. I’m definitely sure that mirror analogy is important. This show has been about symmetry from the start.
Metatron succeeds – in his redemption and in convincing Chuck – when he decides to be a fan. A fan of the creation. And to be an editor, not try to reinvent what the creator did. Ain’t that the metaphor for the age of reboots, retreads, and remakes. Especially on a show with its own absent creator, carrying on the story after his tablets had finished. And Metatron tells God HE has to service his creation, too. He has to let it be more than he is. You can’t service the art unless you want it to be better than you, and it IS better than your ego. And once it’s out in the world, it is going to trip up and disappoint you and give you the finger and be shaped by hands other than yours. And that, somehow, is how the goal of the act of creation isn’t just to miraculously make something better than what you put in, but that it makes you better once it leaves your hands. Or that’s why you keep trying, anyway; why you keep building sandcastles, even if they get kicked down. You build them until you create something that can live without you.
